18 September 2015 A meeting with the master of “literature of unpleasantness”

Literature does not tolerate limitations – we will find this out for ourselves during a special event with Martin Amis, a special guest of the Conrad Festival.

It will not only go “against the current” of our usual experience, but also against the official festival week as it will take place on September 26th at 7:30 pm at the International Centre of Culture in Krakow (MCK).

Will it be a comfortable prelude to the festival though? Martin Amis, British writer and essayist, is often called the icon of “the new unpleasantness”, a postmodern trend that does not want to shock and repel so much as stand against excessive trust in too-pleasant images of the world. Thus the disquiet of the prose – complex interpersonal relationships (such as the romance between an SS officer and the wife of a concentration camp commandant in The Zone of Interest), incredible events (for example, Nicola Six in London Fields knows the details of her own murder ahead of time, however not the identity of her murderer), and the constant nearness of the naked, brutal life (such as in House of Meetings or Dead Babies). In addition to existentialist tropes, there is no hiding the critique of the culture of late capitalism, especially in British society, which is present in the literature.

Amis is considered one of the most influential British authors of his generation, listed alongside Salman Rushdie, Ian McEwan and Julian Barnes. Two-time nominee for the Booker Prize, he regularly contributes to The Sunday Times and The New York Times. Many of his titles have been published in Poland, including  Lionel Asbo: State of EnglandThe Pregnant Widow and, most recently, The Zone of Interest (the author will be visiting Poland in connection with its premiere published by Dom Wydawniczy REBIS).

Join us for an encounter with unpleasant, but moving literature and an exceptional author. The British Council in Krakow is a promotional partner of the event.

“The people hurry from the underground, very mortal, the young half healthy, the old half shrewd — quarter beautiful, quarter wise. Humans, I honour you.” (Martin Amis, Money: A Suicide Note).